Senior Lecturers at the University of Westminster and Co-founders of Architects for Gaza (AfG) have created fragments of an experimental clinic which is planned to be built in Gaza. The project demonstrates how primary care facilities can be constructed with minimal resources and DIY techniques.
Sections of the clinic were displayed at the School of Architecture + Cities on Westminster’s Marylebone Campus as part of the London Festival of Architecture (LFA), an annual month-long celebration of architecture and city-making. The festival takes place across London to open discussions surrounding architecture, test new ideas and uncover and promote new talent. This year’s theme is titled Reimagine, where the architects aim to reimagine ideas and solutions to world crises, including climate, cost of living, social injustice and inequality.
Funded by the Quintin Hogg Trust, this project is part of a broader effort by AfG to cultivate hope in Gaza. The installation was curated by Course Leader for Architecture MA Dr Nasser Golzari and Senior Lecturers Dr Yara Sharif, Dr Paolo Cascone and Francois Girardin. They worked with Marylebone’s Fabrication Lab and the Mobile International Surgical Team (MIST) to develop an off-the-grid mobile-home clinic, which they plan to build in Gaza.
The full-scale components intended to demonstrate how self-build could be realised in Gaza, where 70% of the region's medical infrastructure has been destroyed. The clinic was built using crushed concrete and re-bars as a response to the scarce materials available in Gaza. It acts as a self-help guide for locals as it demonstrates construction techniques that they can use to rebuild their homes and neighbourhoods.
The clinic’s post-and-beam structure was modelled after DIY solutions created by the local community during earlier restoration attempts as the importation of commodities like steel and cement have been prohibited due to the siege.
Founded in November 2023, AfG is a global network of architects, designers and environmentalists that aim to help those effected by the conflict and the area in which they live. Led by both Dr Golzari and Dr Sharif, the new platform, which also includes the Gaza Global University, hopes to offer a place to learn for those who have had to stop their studies due to the conflict.
Dr Sharif and Dr Golzari have also done previous work for AfG such as the launch of Gaza Global University on 18 March, a platform that offers free education to Architecture students that have been impacted by the conflict.
Dr Golzari and Dr Sharif both said: " In a time marked by urgency, scarcity and uncertainty, the Experimental Lab suggests fragments that may offer in their composition new possibilities to rethink the scarred landscape creating a new ‘skin’ salvaged from the ruins. Utilising reconstruction bars, crushed concrete, clay, rubble, recycled timber, cardboard and other materials, the lab travels across the landscape. Its goal is to formulate an Atlas of Materials — a collection of resources gathered, used, or repurposed in collaboration with local families to help reconstruct fragments of their neighbourhoods and homes in Gaza. These interventions provide an alternative expression of architecture and aesthetics, demonstrating how small, community-driven changes can accumulate into meaningful transformations.”
The exhibition and platform directly contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 3: Good Health and Wellbeing, 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure and 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.
Find out more about the School of Architecture + Cities at the University of Westminster.
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